Strauss the self-critical centurion goes from victim to villain in run-out drama

Not many England captains have made a century at Lord's and branded themselves "an idiot" but Andrew Strauss did not avoid a moment of self-admonishment as he reflected upon his suicidal single, on 99, that caused the run-out of his batting partner Ian Bell.

For Strauss, at Lord's, hundreds and apologies virtually go hand in hand. On his Test debut against New Zealand two years ago he scored a century on debut in the first innings and was then run out by Nasser Hussain in the second innings just as he looked like getting another. Hussain, who was also England captain at the time, scored a century of his own, won the match and announced his retirement. He had witnessed Strauss's consummate debut and promptly felt his age.

What goes around comes around. Yesterday it was Strauss himself who had a brainstorm. Singles to Inzamam-ul-Haq are traditionally part of Test cricket's largesse but this one was so misjudged that Inzy could have run him out while sitting on a golden throne. Strauss took a couple of strides, hiccupped and then set off with guilt already forming, condemning Bell to inevitable dismissal the moment that Inzamam's easeful throw from short midwicket hit the stumps direct.

This time at least there will be no retirement in the offing but Strauss apologised to Bell, just as he revealed that Hussain had done to him. The odds are, though, that Strauss deals in perfect apologies, the sort you might make for spilling wine on a duchess' carpet, whereas Hussain's, even at his most remorseful, probably felt a bit like a verbal mugging.

"There is not a huge amount to say about it, apart from the fact that I was a bit of an idiot," Strauss said. "Being on 99 somehow changes sane men into idiots and I feel very sorry for Bellie who was beginning to play very nicely.

"I had to remember what Nasser said to me when he ran me out on my debut. That was also pretty much the same. It's important to try not to dwell on it for too long. He seemed to take it pretty well but, if I was in his position, I wouldn't be overly happy. I can't remember saying a huge amount to Nasser when he ran me out. I was just grateful that day that Nasser went on to win the game for us. It's one of the things that happen on a cricket pitch. You just have to move on."

At least the mix-up ensured that English cricket provided its very own Wag moment. Admittedly, it did not rival the more extravagant moments of the celebrity wives and girlfriends with the England football team. But Wag moment it certainly was - the time that Strauss' wife Ruth, an Australian actress, missed her cue.

As Strauss set off on the fatal run, Ruth MacDonald - no doubt much to her own chagrin, because she has watched eight of his nine Test hundreds and, befitting someone raised in Australia, knows something about it - was caught in full Wag mode. She delighted in her husband's dash with several thrilled little claps. It was only belatedly that she realised that Bell was lying face down in the dust and, as the television umpire was called for, her hands covered her mouth in mortification.

Bell, who is constantly being urged to show more presence at the crease, might have reflected that lying face down on it was not the best way to achieve it. Strauss, naturally, also wished he could relive the last 30 seconds. But Ruth will look at the TV recording and wish that she could expunge her Cheryl Tweedy moment. Take two: "Andrew begins his run, you spot his mistake immediately, now look agonised - that's perfect - and shake your head knowingly at your husband's error. Perfect darling. It's a wrap." Instead all she displayed was starry-eyed devotion.

Strauss was only the third England captain to make a hundred in his first game in charge; they might be about to take the job off him but they cannot remove that. He was also the first in England, the others being AC McLaren against Australia in Sydney in 1897 and Allan Lamb, a stand-in captain if ever there was one, against West Indies in Barbados in 1990. By the time Strauss got his hundred for real, Bell was being the good team man, applauding on the balcony, in approved manner. It was an important, carefully-gauged hundred; today's declaration will have similar qualities.